Ingot-casting apparatus



, I 1,612 862 Jan. 4, 1927. I A FORREST meow CASTING APPARATUS FiledJuly 31. 1925 Patented Jim. 4, 1927.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW FORREST, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO INTERSTATE IRON ANDSTEEL COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

meo'r-cas'rme arimaa'rus.

Application filed my 31, 925. Serial No. 47,208.

My invention relates especially to molds and stools for casting ingotsfrom molten metal, and its object is to' provide a device in whichthemetal affer coolingdoes, not.

stick in the lower opening of the mold chainber and the ingot can belifted out of the mold without pushing onthe bottom of the ingot. I I

In casting ingots it is customary to use molds of either the so-calledbig-end-up type in which the necked-in or reduced part of themoldchamber is at the bottom of the mold, or the so-called big-end-down ty ein which the contracted part of the moldc 1amher is at the top. In bothtypes the metal .is

, liable to leak out and when cooled stick in .the lower opening of themold chamber, so that frequently it is impossible to lift the ingots outof the former type of molds and 29 -to pull thelatter type of molds oilthe ingots without consuming extra time and employing further labor toloosen or remove the metal thus adhering to the mold, during whichoperation the mold is out of commission for further casting operations,and sometimes is unsuitable for further use.' In some cases as many asseven molds in a oank of twenty have thus been rendered at leasttemporarily useless. In some respects the big-end-up type is preferableto the other type, because in the stripping operation the 1 cooled ingotcan be removed from this'type of mold without removing the mold itselffrom its casting position in the pit, whereas with the other type afterthe mold is lifted or stripped off the ingot it must be depositedelsewhere until the ingot is removed and must then be returned tocasting osition in the pit. However, in the use of ig-end up molds ithas heretofore been customary to provide the reduced or necked-in lowerend of the mold chamber with an interior closure plate having an arm orplug projecting through the opening so that force can be applied to theplug to cause the plate to push on the bottom of the ingot to aid inlifting the latter out of the mold. This practice is objectionable forseveral reasons and does not obviate the sticking of the metal in thelower opening ofthe chamber as the metalleaks past the plate and sticksin the mold' opening.

My invention obviates this liability of the metal to stick in the loweropening of the 5 mold chamber and permits the ingot to be lifted out ofthe big-end-up mold without pushing on its bottom, and not only effectsa great saving of time and labor in the strip-)- ping operation itself,but also reduces the number of expensive molds required as it ensuresthe uninterrupted use of the full quota of mold equipment.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a practical embodiment ofmy invention and in which the same reference numerals indicate thesameor similar parts in the different Views, Fig. 1 is a view partly inlongitudinal section and partly in side elevation showing a big-end-upmold and an associated stool constructed in accordance with myinvention; Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same mold looking intoits chant her and showing the shape of its bottom end, and Pig. 3 is atop plan View of the stool showingthe shape of its dilferent parts.

In carrying out my invention I preferably employ the big-end-up type ofthe mold, as irfdicated generally by the reference numeral 1, whichmaybe of any suitable size and contour of chamber, and provide a stoolindicated generally by the reference numeral 2 which forms the bottom ofthe mold during the casting of theingot, these parts be ing suitablyconstructed to seal the lower end of the mold chambert when assembled topreventvthe metal fr m leaking out, and to permit the mold to be readilyand easily seated on the stool. In the embodiment here shown, the lowerend of the mold is provided with a bell-mouth formed by 'an outwardlybeveled or flared cylindrical lip 3- and having an inner annular fiatseat 4: surrounding the corresponding end of its chamber, and the top ofthe stool is pro-' vided with a conical frustum spigot 5 constructed topass into the bell-mouth of the mold and having a flat upper seat 6 toregister with and s'upportthe seat 4 of the mold. In practice the onlybearing of the mold on the stool is upon the seat 6 at the inner end ofthe spigot in order that the entire weight of the mold on the stool maybe confined and concentrated to the relatively small area of thesurfaces 4 and 6 transverse to the axial line of the mold, and therebymake a tight joint to seal the bottom end of the mold and prevent themolten metal from leaking out. For this purpose suitable clearance isprovided between all other opposite surfaces of the moldand stool. Thus,for example,

the height of the spigot-is slightly greater than the depth of the mouthto provide clearance between the lower edge of the moldand the body ofthe stool; in ractice a separation of about one-sixteent of an inchbetween these surfaces provides sufficient clearance without permittingthe mold to rock on the stool. Also, for the same primary purpose, theincreasing diameter of the bell-mouth is slightly greater than that ofthe spigot to provide clearance between their sides, in practice aclearance of about one-eighth of an inch at this locationbeingsufiicient; and this feature is of further advantage because inassembling the parts the mold slips easily on .the stool withoutpreliminary axial alinement. These clear-' ances also enable the partsto make an easy fit or assembly. Furthermore, the bellmouth and s igotpreferably are conical so that the mol seats on the stool in any of itsrotary positions; the recess in the mold seats on the spigot on thestool in any rotary relation of these parts, thereby obviating thenecessity of axially turning the mold to any particular or predeterminedposition above the stool in order to properly assemble it on the latter.

The stool is of cast metal, and its face within the mold-chamber can beof any shape to provide the desired contour of the end of the ingot; andthe lower surface of the stool may be plain or provided with a base 7 asdesired.

When a mold is seated on the stool, as

-- shown for example in Fig. 1, the lower end of the mold rests only onthe transverse seat 6 and the joint is sealed by the surfaces 4 and .6.When the molten metal is poured into the mold it does not leak out of.the chamber, and the ingot does not stick in the lower opening of themold. When the stool is used with either parallel-walled or big-end-downmolds the latter may be stripped oif the ingot by pulling it off in theis thus simplified and rendered uniform, all the molds remain in servicefor successive castings, and saving in time and equipment is obtained..Also, as the greatest wear on the walls of the mold chamber occurs atthe bottom, particularly in all molds having either integralor necked-inbottoms, my inventioneifects a saving in expense of equipment as the"separate stools can be replaced at greatly reduced cost in comparisonwith the cost of renewing or replacing the molds, and the same stoolscan be usedwith diiferent forms or types of molds.

I claim:

1. An ingot casting apparatus comprising a mold and a stool having acylindrical bell and spigot seating joint.

2. An in ot casting apparatus comprising a mold having a bell-mouth atits lower end, and a stool having a conical spigot to enter the mouthwhen the mold is assembled on the stool, the stool and mold havingopposite annular seating faces disposed in a plane transverse to theaxial line of the mold.

3. In an ingot casting apparatus, a bigend-up mold having a bell-mouthat its lower end formed with an annular seat transverseto the axial lineof the mold and an outer flared cylindrical lip, and a stool having aconical spigot formed with an annular seat to co-operate with themold-seat to seal the mold, the lip and spigot being formed to provideclearance between their sides and between the lower edge of the lip andthe body of the stool.

In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature.

ANDREW FORREST.

